I was all for HS when the boys were wee little... but now they are big and handfuls and the break of school sounds so nice sometimes! But right now I am feeling I can handle HSing PS next year and take it one step at a time. Around here all the PS are 4 days a week or more and K is 5 full days. Im not interested in so much school at their age. It seems to much and DS1 is a bit busy to say the least. Also Ive been thinking I hate to split up the boys yet if it isnt necessary. They are 10 1/2 months apart will be in different grades. Isnt it a really good reason to allow them one or two more years to be together all the time, they wont ever get that chance again really once they (if they) go to school... Im afraid that as a reason will get resistance from people, not that I need to explain myself to anyone other than Dh who is more proHS than I am...

Just wondering what others think of HS to keep the kids together a little longer?

I actually know many HS families that homeschool because family is their priority. They may not word it exactly like you do but the priority is the same. They do it so that the sibling and parent child bond will come before the peer bond and that is a lot of what I am hearing from your post. Honestly there are very few bad reasons to home school. I'm sure there are a couple, but so long as you are working with your kids (and at this age I wouldn't be putting much pressure on them anyway) homeschooling so they can have more time together and with you as a family seems like a perfectly wonderful reason to do so.

I actually know many HS families that homeschool because family is their priority. They may not word it exactly like you do but the priority is the same. They do it so that the sibling and parent child bond will come before the peer bond and that is a lot of what I am hearing from your post. Honestly there are very few bad reasons to home school. I'm sure there are a couple, but so long as you are working with your kids (and at this age I wouldn't be putting much pressure on them anyway) homeschooling so they can have more time together and with you as a family seems like a perfectly wonderful reason to do so.

I agree with this post, esp the bolded parts!

We homeschool mainly for the first bolded reason (but of course have other reasons, too). B/c we want our kids to be closer to us than any other adults/kids in their lives.

Just wondering what others think of HS to keep the kids together a little longer?

I'm the oldest of four, all of us about 17 months apart - and I loved being homeschooled all together when we were little. I think it really helped cement our bond. We're all grown and through college now, but I know we all really treasure the time we got to spend together when we were little.

That being said, I think it's wise to take it a day at a time - if homeschooling stops working for you, or your boys, you can always try something else. Good luck!

I actually know many HS families that homeschool because family is their priority. They may not word it exactly like you do but the priority is the same. They do it so that the sibling and parent child bond will come before the peer bond and that is a lot of what I am hearing from your post. Honestly there are very few bad reasons to home school. I'm sure there are a couple, but so long as you are working with your kids (and at this age I wouldn't be putting much pressure on them anyway) homeschooling so they can have more time together and with you as a family seems like a perfectly wonderful reason to do so.

Thank you ladies :-). I know if I say it the way I did people will say well you have to separate them eventually, but if I say I want their sibling and parent child bond to come before peer bonds, I'll just get looks, commentators won't know how to comment :-)

I think it's a great reason! It's one of the (many) reasons we chose to homeschool. With the age difference between oldest and youngest being 9 years it means my oldest is already halfway to graduation and moving out. We're thinking we might try to have one more, which means she'll be even closer to starting her own life. I want my kids to have as much time together to build a close bond as possible, and knowing my oldest won't be living here forever, I think my kids are all benefiting from the chance to stay together as long as possible. If my oldest was in school she wouldn't have nearly the time she has now to play with her younger brothers. For a while she'd probably enjoy the separation, but after a while I think she'd miss it. She's as excited as I am when she sees the baby hit a new milestone, like standing up on his own, and every time it happens she's just as exited. It hasn't lost it's charm. I can't imagine how it would be to lose half of those moments because she was in school or too busy with homework to notice them.

Another thought, my sister and I were 18 months apart, well, close enough at least. We did everything together and were really close. We both thought school would have almost been better if we were in the same grade when we were younger because we could have spent so much more time together. I sometimes think it would have been so much better if we could have spent our early schooling years together.

Also, as you start getting into homeschooling you may find other reasons to homeschool which will help you explain your decision to other people. There are a ton of benefits to homeschooling and you might find that if you get resistance to wanting to give your kids more bonding time, those other reasons might help back up your decision even more. It will just give you more ways to help other people see things the way you do!

We tried preschool for my "busy" son as you put it. Actually I think the preschool experience was more stressful for both of us than homeschooling is. He is a really good boy but he was constantly in trouble because he can't sit still and likes to talk. My kids are not quite 2 years apart and they are VERY close. When there are a bunch of kids out on the playground my older son is always looking out for his brother. He'll defend him and step in between a situation that might get heated. They may fight over toys at home but they are a team and when they aren't together they ask for each other.

Also, it's not really anyone's business why you choose to homeschool. I just tell people that this is what is right for our family and leave it at that. Trust me we've been met with resistance from family and strangers but I know, that I know, that I know homeschooling is the right thing to do. I used to shy away from telling people but now I'm really proud of what we are accomplishing.